Monday, June 23, 2014

Self-Evident Explained

Today, a friend asked me “[I]f it's self-evident, why write a book
explaining it?” I knew that he was joking, but I replied that it is
like "The Emperor's New Clothes." There are those who are in deep
denial. See also "the elephant in the living room." Pointing out the
obvious is an important profession.

Here is
another example. Georgia GOP candidate Jody Hince claims that Islam is not
protected by the first Amendment because it is not really a religion:

Most people think Islam is a religion, it’s not. It’s a totalitarian way
of life with a religious component. But it’s much larger. It’s a geo-political
system that has governmental, financial, military, legal and religious
components. And it’s a totalitarian system that encompasses every aspect of
life and it should not be protected (under U.S. law).

Yeah, that's what happens when there is no separation between church and
state. He might want to think on that. He also might want to consider the
implications of his argument. Beyond saying a spade is not a spade, is he
saying that the First Amendment does not protect advocating a particular way of
life? I'm sure that, if he was asked, his mind would snap to gay marriage and
he would quickly say "Yes!" But, he would be putting his own way of
life at risk as well.

It’s an interesting variant to Bill O’Reilly’s argument that Christmas is a
secular holiday because Christianity
is not really a religion but a philosophy – a claim that I would
imagine most devout Christians would find offensive and dispute. It's kind of
interesting how he throws his religion under a bus to advance his religion. He
really does believe in the resurrection!

But, to be clear, our founders were a pretty secular bunch. As Thomas
Jefferson wrote about the passage of Virginia’s Act for Religious Freedom:

Where the preamble declares, that coercion is a departure from the plan
of the holy author of our religion, an amendment was proposed by inserting
“Jesus Christ,” so that it would read “A departure from the plan of Jesus
Christ, the holy author of our religion;” the insertion was rejected by the
great majority, in proof that they meant to comprehend, within the mantle of
its protection, the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and Mohammedan, the
Hindoo [sic] and Infidel of every denomination.

In Article 11 of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between the U.S. and the
Bey and Subjects of Tripoli of Barbary (1797), The administration of John Adams
had explicitly stated, “As the Government of the United States of America is
not in any sense founded on the Christian religion; it has in itself no
character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility, of Musselmen
[sic]."

And, in his “Memorial and
Remonstrance,” James Madison asked, “Who does not see that the same authority
which can establish Christianity in exclusion of all other religions may
establish, with the same ease, any particular sect of Christians in exclusion
to all other sects?”